Automatic recall service, also known as call return or *69, is a popular service offered by telecommunications service providers. Automatic recall service typically allows a customer to dial a special feature code and receive an enunciation of the telephone number of the last incoming caller. The customer is also typically presented with the option of calling back the directory number associated with the last incoming caller by dialing another special feature code. Thus, a customer may use the automatic recall service to screen his or her calls or when the customer is unable to answer a call before the calling party hangs up. The automatic recall service also may be used when a customer does not know the directory number of that caller, but wants to call back the last incoming caller.
A typical telecommunications network, such as a Signaling System 7 (SS7) network, implements and provides the automatic recall service as described below. When a calling party dials a directory number of a called party, a communication is routed via conventional means to a switch, or signal switching point (SSP), associated with the directory number of the called party. The switch associated with the directory number of the called party may be referred to as the called party switch. When the communication reaches the called party switch, the called party switch stores the directory number of the calling party in a storage location referred to herein as a line history block. The communication received from the calling party may include a privacy indicator and/or a time stamp. A privacy indicator is a flag that indicates whether or not the calling party has marked the communication as private. If the calling party has marked the communication as private, then the switch may not deliver the directory number of the calling party to the called party switch or to other applications. In addition to a privacy indicator, the communication may include a time stamp. A time stamp is an indication of the time and the date that the communication from the calling party was received by the switch. If the communication includes a privacy indicator and/or a time stamp, most automatic recall systems store the privacy indicator and time stamp in the line history block of the called party switch.
After the calling party's directory number, the time stamp, and/or the privacy indicator are stored in the line history block, then the customer may initiate the automatic recall service by entering a special feature code through the key pad of his or her telephone. The customer may also be referred to herein as the subscriber or called party. Upon receiving the special feature code, the called party switch may locate the stored directory number of the last incoming caller, the stored privacy indicator, and the stored time stamp. The called party switch may then initiate a voice synthesis feature that enunciates the directory number of the last incoming calling party and the time and date of the last incoming call. Typically, the called party switch also provides the option to the subscriber of entering another feature code to automatically call back the directory number of the last calling party. For example, the called party switch, upon receiving the special feature code requesting automatic recall, may enunciate: "Your last call was from 555-1234 at 12:04 PM on Monday, May 4. Please press `1` on your key pad to automatically dial this number."
In a typical automatic recall service, the called party switch examines the privacy indicator before enunciating the directory number of the last incoming caller to the customer. If the privacy indicator denotes that the last incoming caller marked the communication as "private", then the called party switch does not transmit the directory number of the last incoming caller to the customer. If the privacy indicator denotes that the last incoming caller did not mark the communication as "private", then the called party switch transmits the directory number of the last incoming caller to the customer. For example, if the last incoming caller marked the communication as "private", then the called party switch enunciates a message similar to the following message: "Your last call was from a private number at 12:04 PM on Monday, May 4. Please press `1` on your key pad to automatically dial this number."
Although automatic recall service is a convenient and popular service, it does suffer from some drawbacks. One drawback of the automatic recall service is that the information related to the last incoming caller such as the directory number of the last incoming caller, the time stamp, and the privacy indicator, are stored in the line history block of the called party switch. The called party switch may enunciate the calling party's directory number and/or the time and date that the last incoming call was received. In addition, the called party switch determines whether or not the last incoming call was private. However, the called party switch has limited intelligence. Thus, the called party switch cannot perform many enhanced services that are convenient or may be desired by the customer.
For most enhanced services, an intelligent, external network element is required. Using present automatic recall services, there is no means for transferring the automatic recall-related information from a called party switch to an external network element, or external application, so that the external application may use the automatic recall-related information to provide enhanced services. A telecommunications service provider which can provide these enhanced services will enjoy a distinct advantage over competitors.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and system for transmitting the automatic recall-related information from a switch to an external network element so that enhanced services may be provided.